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Year's 1st pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first "fugu" pufferfish auction is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2026.

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Year's 1st pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first "fugu" pufferfish auction is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2026.

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Over 4,000 cups of cooked puffer fish served

A total of 4,432 cups of fugu cooked in a 3.5-meter hot pot is served to visitors during a festival in Shimonoseki in the western Japan prefecture of Yamaguchi on May 3, 2025, recognized by Guinness World Records as the most cups of the puffer fish served.

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Year's 1st pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first "fugu" pufferfish auction is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2025.

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Year's 1st pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first "fugu" pufferfish auction is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2025.

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Year's first puffer fish auction in western Japan

Fugu are sorted ahead of the season's first auction of the puffer fish at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 26, 2024.

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Year's first puffer fish auction in western Japan

The season's first fugu auction is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 26, 2024.

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Pufferfish auction in western Japan

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan, Sept. 25 Kyodo - "Fugu" pufferfish are unloaded from a basket at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Sept. 25, 2023, for the season's first auction. (Kyodo)

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Pufferfish auction in western Japan

"Fugu" pufferfish are unloaded from a basket at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Sept. 25, 2023, for the season's first auction.

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Pufferfish auction in western Japan

The season's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 25, 2023.

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Ehime fish breeder successfully farms prized 'fugu' blowfish

MATSUYAMA, Japan - Toshiyasu Yoshimura, president of Optima Foods Corp., holds a cultured ''torafugu'' blowfish at his firm in Ainan, Ehime Prefecture, on July 12, 2009.

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Tora-fugu now can be raised in a tank of fresh water

OKAYAMA, Japan - The Japanese delicacy tora-fugu is a species of puffer fish that lives in sea water. Now, a research team at Okayama University of Science Professional Training College in Okayama Prefecture has succeeded breeding them in fresh water. The trick, the researchers there say, is to add a small amount of electrolytes into the water. The taste of fresh water-raised tora-fugu, the students involved in the project say, is ''really tasty.''

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Year's first pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2022.

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Year's first pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2022.

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Year's first pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2022.

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Year's first pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at a market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2022.

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First pufferfish auction of season in western Japan

The first auction of the season for "fugu" pufferfish is held at the Haedomari market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 27, 2021. The market is one of the country's largest for fugu.

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First pufferfish auction of season in western Japan

The first auction of the season for "fugu" pufferfish is held at the Haedomari market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 27, 2021. The market is one of the country's largest for fugu.

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Tora-fugu now can be raised in a tank of fresh water

OKAYAMA, Japan - The Japanese delicacy tora-fugu is a species of puffer fish that lives in sea water. Now, a research team at Okayama University of Science Professional Training College in Okayama Prefecture has succeeded breeding them in fresh water. The trick, the researchers there say, is to add a small amount of electrolytes into the water. The taste of fresh water-raised tora-fugu, the students involved in the project say, is ''really tasty.'' (Kyodo)

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1st bidding of balloon fish

Photo taken Jan. 4, 2016, shows the first "fugu" balloon fish auction of the year in the western Japan city of Shimonoseki, where the largest volume of the fish in the country is traditionally traded. Fish sold at the auction will be shipped all over the country. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Shimonoseki market marks arrival of fugu season

Brokers bid for fugu, or pufferfish, at a fish market in the western Japanese city of Shimonoseki in the early hours of Sept. 18, 2015, during the first auction of the season. The market is the country's biggest for fugu. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Shimonoseki market marks arrival of fugu season

Brokers bid for fugu, or pufferfish, at a fish market in the western Japanese city of Shimonoseki in the early hours of Sept. 18, 2015, during the first auction of the season. The market is the country's biggest for fugu. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Year's 1st pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at Haedomari market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2021.

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Year's 1st pufferfish auction in western Japan

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish is held at Haedomari market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Jan. 4, 2021.

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First pufferfish auction of season in western Japan

The first auction of the season for "fugu" pufferfish is held at Haedomari market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 28, 2020. The market is the country's largest for fugu.

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First pufferfish auction of season in western Japan

The first auction of the season for "fugu" pufferfish is held at Haedomari market in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, in the early hours of Sept. 28, 2020. The market is the country's largest for fugu.

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Year's first pufferfish auction

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish takes place on Jan. 4, 2019, at the Haedomari fish market in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. The market is one of the largest for fugu. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Year's first pufferfish auction

The year's first auction of "fugu" pufferfish takes place on Jan. 4, 2019, at the Haedomari fish market in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. The market is one of the largest for fugu. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Year's first balloon fish auction

A buyer and a broker negotiate the price of "fugu" blowfish with finger movements in a cloth bag at the Haedomari fish market in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Jan. 4, 2018, during the year's first auction of the fish. The market is Japan's largest for the fish, which will be shipped to the Kanto and Kansai regions. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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First pufferfish auction of season in western Japan

Brokers and buyers take part in the first auction of the season for fugu, commonly known as pufferfish, at a fish market in the western Japan city of Shimonoseki on Sept. 26, 2016. The market is the country's largest for fugu. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo